


Celebrating the life of Dean Winchester

by Fandom_Stuff



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dean's Funeral, Grief, Hunters Funeral, the funeral dean should have had
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:35:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27678187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandom_Stuff/pseuds/Fandom_Stuff
Summary: Fix it fic for 15x20 for Dean's funeral, where everyone should have attended not just Sam and Miracle.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Celebrating the life of Dean Winchester

Sam didn’t know how long he stood there, arms wrapped around Dean’s limp body, sobs pulsating through him with every breath. He didn’t know how long it had been when he finally managed to summon the strength to pull Dean away from the post or how he was able to lift Dean’s body into his arms and carry him towards the Impala. 

The two boys they’d saved were standing outside, clinging to each other in fear and Sam had to muster up a small smile as he set Dean gently down on the ground. 

“Hey guys, just give me a second okay? Then we’ll get you someplace safe.” 

The boys nodded and Sam crouched down beside his brother and reached shaking hands into Dean’s pocket where he pulled the Impala’s keys. 

It took him a few tries to get the key into the doors lock but once he did he gestured towards the kids. “Hop in, okay? I just need a moment.” 

“Is he sleeping?” the youngest boy asked as he looked at Dean. 

Sam had to fight to keep the tears from falling as he nodded slowly and met the boy’s eyes. “Yes, he’s just sleeping.” 

The two boys climbed into the front bench of the Impala and Sam carefully opened the back door and then bent down to pick Dean up again before placing him in the backseat. 

He slid into the driver's seat, again fighting tears as he thought about how Dean hardly ever let him drive the car and how Dean said he rode the brakes too hard. The ache in his chest expanded and he swallowed down the lump in his throat before turning the key in the ignition and pulling the Impala away from the barn. 

He drove to the nearest police precinct and gave a brief explanation of what happened to the cop behind the counter, omitting the details about vampires, before he left the boys in the hands of the law. 

The drive back to the bunker was eerily silent. Sam couldn’t bear to put on any music, knowing that the second he turned on the radio it would be playing one of Dean’s classic rock cassette tapes. Instead, he just focused on the rumble of the engine under the hood, it was a sound he’d been hearing all his life and it had become a comfort to him, just to hear it everyday. 

When Sam reached the bunker he couldn’t seem to get his feet to work. It was like he was glued to the seat, and he pressed his forehead against the steering wheel and let the tears fall again, letting the aching sobs take over him. 

It took him a long time before he had himself under control again but when he stepped from the car and hoisted Dean’s body from the backseat and entered the bunker, his emotions got the better of him again when he saw Miracle waiting for him. 

Miracle wagged his tail and came to greet him, sniffing at his shoes and ankles. “Hey there, boy,” Sam said shakily as he brushed past him and moved down the hallway towards Dean’s room. 

He hesitated in the doorway, even though Dean’s weight was crushing, but seeing the empty room, clothes strewn across various furniture, the unmade bed, the job application Dean had just signed, made him almost want to go lay Dean out on one of the library tables instead. But he forced himself to enter the room, because it was where Dean would want to be, on his bed, not some hard table. 

Once Dean was on the bed, Sam sat beside him and Miracle leaped up onto the mattress and instantly started licking Dean’s face. 

“He’s gone,” Sam said softly when Miracle looked at him in confusion at Dean’s lack of response. Miracle whined and nosed at Dean’s body again before looking back at Sam. “He’s gone,” he repeated. It was the only thing he could seem to say, as if he was trying to get it through his head too, not just the dog’s. 

He knew he had things to do, arrangements to make, people to call, but he felt too numb to do anything. He’d seen Dean’s dead body before, too many times, but this time it was different, this time he wasn’t coming back, this time Sam had to continue without him. He wasn’t even sure if he could do that, but he knew he had to try because it was Dean’s dying wish that he live his life.

Eventually, Sam managed to drag himself to his feet and drop some food in Miracle’s bowl before stumbling to the library where he sat at the table, staring at the five names etched into its surface, his phone sitting in front of him. 

He stared at the black screen for a moment, before he opened his phone and clicked his way through his contacts. Dean’s name was the first one he saw and he only hesitated for a second before he clicked the call button; the need to hear Dean’s voice again was too powerful.

He could hear the phone ringing down the hallway but once it stopped Dean’s voice came from the phone’s speaker. 

“This is Dean’s other other cell, you must know what to do.” 

Sam ended the call and let out a shaky breath. He couldn’t just sit here and call Dean over and over again, he had to tell people what happened, he had to call their friends. 

The next name under Dean’s in the contact list was Donna. His finger hovered over her name for a moment as he tried to control his breathing. When he finally pressed call, and put the phone on speaker, he could feel his heart beating faster as each ring filled the air. 

“Hiya,” Donna answered after the third ring. “What can I do ya for, Sam?” 

“Uh, hey Donna,” Sam replied. He knew he sounded like shit, he knew his voice was tear jerked and rough, that it was obvious something was wrong. 

“Oh no, what’s happened?” Donna asked, instantly worried. 

Sam felt the tears in his eyes again and the softest of sobs escaped his lips. “It’s Dean,” he managed to choke out. “He’s-” he trailed off, trying desperately to get air into his lungs as his chest seemed to be collapsing at every corner. “He’s dead,” he finally sobbed. 

Donna was silent on the other end and Sam could hear the quiet intake of a breath. “I’m so sorry, Sam,” she said after a moment. 

Sam nodded as more tears slid down his cheeks. “Yeah, so um, I guess I’ll be holding the wake in a few days, at the bunker. Um, I want to tell Jody myself, but uh, can you… I know it’s a lot to ask but… can you get the word out, I just… I don’t think I can-” 

“I’ll get the word out, Sam,” Donna cut in. 

“Thanks,” Sam replied. “I gotta… I gotta call Jody, but I’ll see you in a few days?” 

“I’ll be there.” 

Sam hung up and once again tried to get himself under control before he called Jody. 

She answered right away and Sam could hear the voices of Claire and Alex in the background and the sizzle of something on a stove. 

“Hi Sam,” Jody said, a smile in her voice. 

Sam hated that he was about to wreck her good mood. “Hi Jody.” 

“What’s up? You don’t sound so good.” 

“You might want to sit down,” Sam said. 

“Okay…” Jody replied. He could hear her move away from the stove and pull out a chair. “What’s up?” 

“It’s Dean, he’s… he’s dead.” 

There was silence for a moment, and then, “how?” Jody asked, Sam could hear the break to her voice, the shake of it as tears undoubtedly began to fall from her eyes. 

“Vampire hunt,” Sam replied. He sniffed and gripped the phone tighter. “I’m holding the wake in a few days, Donna’s already telling people what happened, but maybe you could help her out? I have to… I have to prepare the-the body, and everything.” 

“We’ll take care of it,” Jody said.

“Great, uh, thanks.” 

With the calls made, Sam sunk further into his chair and shut his eyes, he had a lot to do in the next few days, but for now he just wanted to sleep. 

****

When Sam opened the bunker door five days later, he didn’t expect to see so many people lined up to come in. 

There were Jody and the girls, Donna, Doug, Charlie, Bobby and the rest of the apocalypse world hunters, and lastly, Eileen. 

Sam accepted hugs and condolences from everyone, but he held onto Eileen the longest. “I’m so sorry, Sam,” she said. Sam could only nod as he took her hand and led her into the bunker. 

“So, uh, Dean’s body is in his room, and I figured tonight we could build the pyre,” he said once everyone was inside and had turned to look at him. “There’s beer in the kitchen and I’ll go out to get the pizza soon.” 

“I can get it,” Bobby offered. “You’ve been through enough.” 

Sam nodded in relief. “Okay, thanks.” 

Sam collapsed in a chair next to Eileen and watched as people filed off to find beer or go see Dean. 

“You know, I remember when I first met you boys,” Jody said as she sat down across from Sam, a beer in hand. 

“Yeah, you arrested us,” Sam replied as he raised a beer of his own to his lips. 

Jody chuckled. “That I did.” 

“And I tried to kill you,” Eileen said. 

Sam nodded, the smallest of smiles on his lips. “Yeah.”

“You boys saved me from fat sucking monsters,” Donna added as she came to join them. 

“And Dean killed Lucifer,” Bobby said. 

“He did,” Sam agreed. “And Hitler.” 

“And Hitler,” Jody laughed.

“I never got along with Dean,” Kaia said as she and Claire gravitated towards the table. “But he saved a lot of people, myself included.” 

Claire nodded in agreement. “I remember when I tried to have him killed, he should have been furious, but he never held a grudge against me.” 

“Dean was a good person,” Charlie said. 

“The best,” Sam replied. 

“Hey, Sam?” Claire asked. 

“Yeah?” 

“Where’s Cas?” 

_ Fuck.  _

Through it all he and Dean had really forgotten to tell everyone about Cas. 

“Uh,” Sam choked slightly, eyes focused on his beer. “He’s um, he’s dead too.”

“What?” Claire gasped, horror passing over her face before tears sprung from her eyes and she turned into Kaia’s arms. 

“Dean said the empty came for him, he uh… he never told me why,” Sam replied quietly. “Sorry, I… I didn’t even think… I thought Dean would’ve… a lot’s happened these past few days.” 

Sam watched Kaia lead Claire away towards a corner of the bunker and Sam returned to his beer, taking a long sip. 

Jody reached out a hand and touched his arm gently. “It’s okay.” 

Sam shook his head, once again finding that he was crying. “It’s not. Cas was part of our family and we didn’t even… he didn’t deserve that.” 

“But we know now, we can celebrate his life today too,” Jody replied. 

Sam nodded mutely and let his hand fine Eileen’s again, holding onto her like she was the only thing that was keeping him grounded, and she probably was. 

Bobby went and got the pizza and they ate to the sound of Dean’s favorite songs filling the bunker. Sam hardly managed two bites of food, but he chugged down a few more beers in the pizza’s stead.

After many drinks were had, and many stories were told (of both Dean and Cas), Sam knew it was his turn to speak, sohe forced himself to stand in front of everyone. 

“Thank you all, for coming. None of us really expected to see this day, least of all me. I never thought… I’d be standing here at my brother’s funeral, I always assumed we’d end up dead together. But, Dean would have wanted you all to be here, and I’m sure he’d be proud of all the alcohol we’ve consumed.” That earned Sam a small chuckle from the crowd and Sam smiled at it. “Dean was always there for me, he always looked out for me, and protected me. He always knew he’d go out on a hunt, he always knew there would be a day where he wasn’t brought back to life, and this time, when he died… he chose to go and he chose to stay gone.” Sam paused and gripped his beer tighter. “And Cas, he was my brother too, he sacrificed so much for Dean and me, the last of all being his life. They’re both going to be missed, but Dean wants us to keep going, I’m sure Cas does too, and so that’s what I plan to do.” 

Murmurs of agreement pushed their way through the crowd and Jody raised her beer to the air. “To Dean and Cas.” 

“To Dean and Cas,” everyone echoed. 

After they drank to Dean and Cas, Sam led everyone out to the clearing behind the bunker and together they all began to build the pyre Dean would finally be laid to rest on. 

It didn’t take long, with all of them working together, and soon the pyre was ready, the only thing it was missing was the body. Sam stared at the empty stack of wood for a few moments before he cleared his throat. 

“Right, I’ll go… I’ll go get him.” 

“Do you want help?” Jody asked. 

Sam shook his head. “No, no, I’ve gotta do this alone.” 

Without another word, Sam headed back inside and found his way to Dean’s room. Miracle was curled up at the base of Dean’s bed and he raised his head when Sam walked in. Sam paused to pet him but he quickly stood again and moved to Dean’s side. 

He pulled the white sheet away from Dean’s face and took in his brother one last time. 

“You shouldn’t have gone out that way, Dean,” he said in a choked whisper. “I’m sorry.” He took a breath to steady himself and forced the tears back down. “I’m going to try and live my life for the both of us, I’m going to make you proud.” 

He drew the sheet back over his face and then began to wrap him up in the cloth, tucking it in carefully around his body and securing it with ties. When he finished, he gently picked Dean up and made his way out of Dean’s room. Miracle trailed at his feet as he pushed his way outside and placed Dean’s body atop the pyre. 

He stepped away and joined the circle of people surrounding the pyre and let his hand fall back into Eileen’s. 

“Well, this is it,” Sam said. “Thank you for everything, Dean.” 

“You’ll never be forgotten,” Jody added. 

“Your story will be told for years to come,” Donna said. 

“The great Dean Winchester, who fought angels, and demons, and God himself,” Bobby said. 

“And Cas,” Sam said with a sniff. “Thank you for saving my brother in more ways than one.” 

“Thank you for trying your best to make things right with my family,” Claire added. 

“Thank you both for being there,” Sam choked out. He flicked open his lighter, Dean’s lighter, that he’d dug out of Dean’s pocket the other day. He let the flame sway in the light breeze for a moment before he raised his head to look at the pyre. 

“Goodbye Cas, goodbye Dean.” 

With that, he tossed the lighter towards the pyre and watched as it caught on the dry brush and spread to the top of the wood, engulfing Dean in flames. 

It was the hunter's funeral Dean deserved. 

Miracle whined at Sam’s feet and he let his free hand brush against his head as more tears fell from his eyes. 

The smoke clouded Sam’s vision and he tilted his head to the sky, watching the blue move timelessly above him. He hoped Dean was up there, he was  _ sure  _ Dean was up there, with Jack in charge now there was no way Dean had ended up in Hell. 

He knew he’d join Dean eventually, but he wasn’t going to make that day today, as much as he’d thought about it. He had Eileen, and Miracle, and Dean would be pissed if he joined him too soon.

With a sad smile, Sam turned his gaze back to the pyre and gave Eileen’s hand a squeeze. For now he was going to live his life, just like he told Dean he would.


End file.
